Farmhouse

She paused again then said, "Oh, and present company excluded."

Doyle thanked her again then just before he left Lori said, "What time should I stop by tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" he asked not sure what she meant.

"Yes. Tomorrow. I can't do a whole lot of work yet, but I am able to help, and I do make a pretty mean sandwich if I do say so myself. We could walk over to my house and have lunch, if you'd like."

"That's really kind of you, but you don't have to do that," Doyle told her.

"I know," she said with a sweet smile. "So what time should I be here?"

"Well, I show up around eight o'clock so anytime after that is fine. But please feel free to leave anytime. I don't want you to think..."

"Hey! Are you trying to get rid of me already?" she said striking a kind of pouty pose.

Doyle couldn't help but laugh at her antics. She was just so...cute!

"No. Not at all," he told her truthfully. "You're welcome to spend as much time as you like. I just didn't want you to think I'm expecting anything."

Lori laughed then told him, "Well, how about this for starters? Expect me to show up and do a good job. Will that work for you?"

Doyle actually laughed—again—and told her that sounded great.

"All right! Then I'll see you at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

"I'll look forward to that," he told her honestly.

"Me, too. Oh, and if, after a few days, my work is satisfactory, maybe you could spring for lunch sometime."

"Well, let's see just what it is you bring to the table before we go getting all kinds of wild and crazy, okay?" he said with a stern face.

"Ah, okay. I can see I'm gonna have to earn my spurs around this place! Well, I guess I have my, um...work...cut out for me, huh?"

Both of them laughed, and Doyle told her he'd be more than happy to take her to lunch sometime as she said goodbye. He finished walking her to the front of the house and watched her jump off the porch where the steps used to be.

"Good thing I used to do gymnastics!" she said as she turned around and waved goodbye.

Doyle smiled and waved back then stood there and watched her walk away.

As he walked back inside alone he realized he'd laughed more during her brief visit than he had the entire previous year and a half. He'd also smiled more and quite possibly said more, too. And for the first time since Chelly was taken from him, he felt...he felt...hopeful about the future.

Back at his mom's house that evening, Doyle was walking around whistling when his mother stopped him and said, "Are you okay?"

"Never better!" he told her with a smile.

"Well, I declare," she said in an almost hollow voice. "I should have pushed you to buy that farmhouse months ago."

"I wasn't ready then, Mom," he told her.

"Well, I'm glad you are now. I can't remember the last time I saw you smile. I've missed that."

"Me, too, Mom. Me, too."

During dinner he further surprised his mother when out of the blue he asked, "Do you think it's too early for me to...you know, start seeing someone?"

Dora was in the middle of a bite when she stopped chewing and stared at her son. She pushed the food to the side and talked with food in her mouth.

"Where in the world did that come from?"

She finished chewing while Doyle answered.

"Just curious," he replied.

"Honey, only you can answer that. The rule of thumb has always been a year. Some people are ready in six months while others take several years. So I'd say it's been long enough, but you have to make that call for yourself."

She set her fork down then asked, "Is this a rhetorical question?"

"Hypothetically," Doyle said with a smile.

His playfulness made her smile back at him then nearly laugh.

"Whatever's going on, I approve," she said, her eyes bright with happiness.

Doyle was still in a good mood when he woke up, and after taking a shower he even dabbed on a tiny bit of cologne then laughed at the thought of going to work 'smelling like a French whore' which was something his father used to say.

The scent wasn't lost on his mother when he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hmmm. You must really like this...farmhouse," she said with a smile.

"You could say that," he quipped as he grabbed a couple of bottles of water along with his thermos on the way out.

His day got even better when he pulled in and saw Lori sitting on the front porch.

"You're late!" she teased, tapping on her watch as he got out of the car.

He glanced at his and saw it was three minutes after eight.

"I can't argue with that," he said. "Note to self. Lori is extremely punctual."

She laughed then told him, "I'll be early to my own funeral."

For a second she had a sick look on her face when she realized what she'd said and to whom she'd just said it. But before she could apologize, Doyle started laughing and Lori couldn't help herself from laughing, too.

"I'm so glad that didn't offend you," she told him.

"You know, up until I met you it probably would have sent me into a funk."

"Oh, I see," she said with a pleasant smile. "Are you saying I'm having a positive effect on you?"

"You could indeed say that," he told her flashing a very pleasant smile of his own back at her.

"So what's on the agenda for today—boss man?" she asked cheerfully.

"Well, demo is done except for the roof. That's going to take several strong guys—or gals—to tear off and replace so I thought we could start by hanging drywall."

"You've got all of the electrical and plumbing done?"

Doyle laughed then said, "Yeah, that would be embarrassing to have to go back and rip out drywall because that didn't get done first."

Both inspectors signed off on the first visit and Doyle was ready to start closing things up.

"Oh, okay. So this isn't the first house you've remodeled, huh?"

"No, I've done one or two before," he said in a friendly tone knowing he'd done many dozens of other houses.

"Great. Then let's started!" Lori suggested.

Doyle got the table saw set up then pulled the tarp off the stack of drywall sheets then headed to the front of the house to start measuring. For the next four hours they measured, cut, nailed and taped. Lori could carry a sheet, but she couldn't hold it up by herself yet, so Doyle would hold it in place while she used a nail gun, mostly with her left hand, to finish the job.

They got the entire living and dining rooms done (less mudding), and it was now time for lunch.

"I'm pleased to admit your work is very satisfactory so I'm happy to buy you lunch today if you'd care to join me," Doyle announced when they finished taping the last sheet.

"Ah! Lucky me," she teased. "Okay, I'm ready. And I'm starving! But I really am happy to make lunch for you over at the Casa de Collins."

Doyle chuckled then told her, "I'm okay with either, but something tells me you eat like a bird meaning I'll get off cheap. You'll order a garden salad—without dressing—and have a glass of water and claim you're stuffed, right?"

"Wow. You don't know me at all, do you?" she said pretending to be serious. "You only think you can eat me under the table."

Lori got a sudden, funny look on her face before both of them smiled then started laughing as the unintentional word play caught up to them again. Lori laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth.

"Oh, my gosh! I did not just say that! Did I?" she said feigning embarrassment.

"I believe you did," Doyle told her.

"Well, then. Let me rephrase that. I predict I will consume more food than you during lunch today. Is that better?"

Both of them laughed again before tidying up as they prepared to leave.

"So what are our choices in the booming metropolis of Carbonado?" Doyle asked as they drove into town.

"Choices? Oh, let me tell you, we got choices!" Lori said. "Three of them. Count 'em. One, two, three. There's the Pick & Shovel, the Wagon Wheel, and the always-popular Bootleggers Bar and Grill."

"Wow. That's...that's overwhelming. Why don't you decide this first time?" Doyle said.

"First time?" she said, her eyebrows raised high.

Doyle laughed then said, "I'm kind of hoping this will be a first-but-not-a-last kind of thing for us."

"Well, we'll have to see about that," she said in a playful voice. "I mean, you're gonna have to earn your spurs if you want a second lunch...date? with me!"

"There's my incentive to keep trying," Doyle agreed being equal playful.

"Let's um...pick...the Pick & Shovel today. You know, for our...first time."

There was another awkward pause before Lori 'got it' yet again.

"Oh, my Lord! I have no idea what's wrong with me today!" she said indicating that wasn't intentional, either.

Doyle laughed as they pulled into the tiny parking lot and said, "From my perspective, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you."

Lori cut her eyes over at him and said, "Why, Doyle Armstrong. If I wasn't a hundred years old I'd think you were flirting with me."

He came around and opened her door and helped her out. When she was standing face to face with him he said, "Was it that obvious? I guess I really am out of practice."

Lori tilted her head as he reached behind her to close her door.

"I'm going to keep my eye on you, young man," she said trying not to smile.

"That sounds painful," he said as he pretended to actually put one of his eyes on her shoulder and keep it there.

Lori kind of snorted as she laughed and said, "Okay, that was bad! Funny but really, really bad!"

Doyle offered her his arm and Lori looked at him for a second then hooked hers in his.

"I really am starving," she told him. "I didn't even have toast for breakfast."

Doyle was blown away when an hour later she'd polished off a very large bowl of chili, two slices of Texas toast, a piece of apple pie, and a cup of coffee.

"You are way too small to put away that much food," he told her.

"I held back to make a good impression," she said trying to sound serious as she finished her coffee. "Once I know you better, I won't worry about that and then you'll find out just how much I can put away."

They heard the front door open and almost immediately, a very attractive, younger woman called out, "I thought that was you!" to Lori.

"Oh, hi, honey! Come on over and let me introduce you," Lori said.

"No need," the very cute young woman said. "You have to be the handsome guy my mom told me about. The one who changed her tire for her. Thank you for that, by the way."

"My reputation precedes me," Doyle said. "I'm probably really in trouble!"

Both of them laughed before Lori said, "Do you have time to join us?"

"Um, well, if your friend doesn't mind..."

"No, not at all," Doyle said. "Please have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you. I just had lunch. I was walking by and did a double take when I saw my mom. And when I saw you, I did a triple take," she admitted with a smile.

"I told you he was handsome, didn't I?" Lori said smiling at Doyle.

"Yes, but you didn't tell me he was gorgeous!" Sandy said before finally introducing herself.

Not sure how to respond Doyle said, "I can see where you get your good looks from."

Sandy grabbed her mom's arm and said, "My mom was a cheerleader, a model, and she's my best friend and hero."

"Oh, stop," Lori said. "I did some local stuff in Seattle back in the 80's. It's not like I was on the cover of Vogue or something."

"No surprise there," Doyle said.

"What? That I wasn't on the cover of Vogue?" Lori said pretending to be deeply hurt.

"Oh, touché! I walked right into that one," he admitted.

"My mom is still gorgeous, don't you think?" Sandy said as she put her face next to her mom's.

"Ha! Twins!" Doyle said.

"I wish!" Lori quipped.

Sandy let go and Lori asked if Doyle was ready to get back to work.

"Ahh! Don't go run off on me!" Sandy said to her mom while looking at Doyle. "We were just getting acquainted."

"I should point out my beautiful daughter is recently single, Doyle," Lori told him.

For a moment he was very confused as he had never so much as thought about Sandy the way he was kinda-sorta thinking about her mother. But after just a quick moment to think it through, he understood she was hinting around that he could ask her daughter out.

"I'm divorced," Sandy told him without prompting. "My husband couldn't keep it in his pants, sooo..."

Doyle saw Lori wince slightly, but Sandy didn't notice or didn't care.

"Anyway, they say if you fall off a horse you gotta get back in the saddle and ride again, right?" Sandy said in a heavy-handed kind of hinting way.

"Yes, they do say that," Doyle agreed.

"My mom told me about your wife," Sandy said in a much more reserved way. "I'm really sorry. I know she told you about my dad. It just really sucks."

Again, Doyle didn't really know what to say so he said, "Yes, it does."

"Honey, did you drive?"

"Yeah. My car's just across the street, why?" Sandy asked.

"Well, I was thinking I could drive your car home, and you and Doyle could get better acquainted," Lori said looking mostly at Doyle.

"Oh. Well, I mean, if that's okay with Doyle, then...sure," Sandy bubbled.

"I um...I really gotta get back and keep plugging on that drywall," he said hoping it sounded convincing.

Seeing the disappointment on both of their faces, he added, "But Sandy would be welcome to join us."

Sandy rolled her eyes and said, "No, thank you. Manual labor and I do not agree."

"She's an indoor girl," Lori said supportively. "I'm the outdoor type."

"You can have it, Mom. It's either too cold or there are mosquitoes everywhere. I'll stick to staying inside, thank you very much. But I wouldn't mind if you called me sometime," she told Doyle out of the blue.

"Oh, wow. Um, that sounds really great," Doyle said trying not to stammer. "I don't really date or anything, though."

"We don't have to 'date'. We can just hang out or something," Sandy said undeterred.

"Okay. Um...let me think about it, okay?" he said now feeling very uncomfortable.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Sandy said. "Well, unless some...other...handsome guy comes along first!"

She grabbed her purse, stood up, then said, "Since Doyle can't stay I guess I should run."

She bent down and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek then smiled brightly at Doyle and said, "My mom has my number."

On the way out she looked back and mouthed, "Call me!" to Doyle who smiled back weakly until she was gone.

On their way back to the farmhouse Lori said, "I hope I wasn't coming on too strong playing matchmaker. My daughter hasn't gone through what we have, but finding out your husband is screwing around with one of your best friends is still a pretty tough row to hoe."

"No. Not at all. She's a...very pretty girl," Doyle threw out.

"She really is. She's grown up a lot since the affair and the divorce."

Doyle was wondering what she was like beforehand as he wasn't exactly overwhelmed with her level of maturity.

"What about you, Lori? Do you ever date or 'hang out' or whatever?" he asked, trying to make it sound like an innocent question.

"Who me? No. Well, not really. I've gone out a handful of times, but as I said, I really am a kind of recluse. I'm not agoraphobic or anything, I just really, really like staying home. Dating is just so...yuck!"

"No, I understand," Doyle told her. "Had my mom not pushed me to buy this farmhouse, I might never have left the house again."

"In your situation that's understandable. I'm just glad you're getting back on track."

They drove along in silence for a good while before Lori asked, "What about you, Doyle? I'm assuming you haven't dated, but is that something you're possibly considering?"

He exhaled a long, slow breath then said, "Well, until just recently, no. I mean, I haven't dated at all since Chelly died, but recently I've been kind of thinking about it."

"Well, I do have Sandy's number. If you'd like I can give it to you," Lori told him.

Doyle hadn't actually thought about formally asking Lori out until just then, but after the way she'd been trying to set him up with her daughter he wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"What? There's something you're not saying," she said as she looked over at him. "I thought we had a good rapport going here and could talk to each other."

"We do," Doyle told her. "I'm just not sure this is something I want to bring up right now. That's all."

He smiled politely at her and could tell she wasn't buying it.

"Come on. Out with it!" she said. "I'm just gonna keep bugging you until you tell me, so let's get this over with!"

Doyle realized his palms were sweaty as he glanced over at Lori and said, "Would you maybe like to have dinner with me sometime, Lori?"

She shook her head quickly as though it had cobwebs in it then said, "Me? You want to go out with...me?"

"Gee, way to give a guy a complex," Doyle said trying to play it off as no big deal.

"Wait. Were you serious? I mean, did you really just ask me out as in...on a date?" Lori said, her tone of voice indicated she needed clarification.

"I was," he told her. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Oh. Oh, my," she said as she turned back to face the front of the car. "Um, no, it's not so hard to believe, it's just...well, it's..."

She looked back over at him then said, "Actually, yes. It's very hard to believe."

"May I ask why?" Doyle said expecting to get a long list of excuses.

"Doyle? How old do you think I am?" Lori asked in a very kindly way.

"Well, until I met Sandy, I was thinking 32-35, but..."

Lori made a loud spewing sound and laughed loudly.

"Oh, my goodness! Are you serious?" she said now bending over and looking at him.

"Okay, but you didn't let me finish," he said defensively. "I was thinking, based on Sandy's age, you might be 40 or maybe even...42?"

"Doyle? I'm 50 years old," she told him.

Her voice was soft and tender and he could tell it was meant to let him down easily.

"I was almost 29 when Sandy was born and she's 22 now, so you can do the math, right?"

"I can do the math. I just can't make my brain accept the result with what my eyes are telling me."

"Now that is just the nicest thing I've heard in a very long time," she told him. "But even your sweet words can't change the fact I was born waaaay back in 1967. You know, two years before astronauts landed on the moon?"

"Well, you're not the only one born in a year where something cosmic almost happened," he said in a kind on nyah, nyah, nyah voice.

Lori laughed and said, "Pray tell, what happened in the year you were born?"

"Um, well, have you heard of 2001, A Space Odyssey?" he said feigning smugness.

"Uh, yeah," she said drawing out the 'yeah'. "But it was released in 1968 when I was a year old and you were...minus how many?"

"Okay, but that's not the point," Doyle said as though they were formally debating. "I was just pointing out that my birth year is just as significant as yours. I mean, what famous space movie even mentions 1967? Give or take a couple of years."

He looked over at her and said, "Huh? HUH?"

Lori started laughing and laughed so hard she had to turn away.

"You do make me laugh. I have to give you that," she said.

"Then...why don't you give me a chance?" he said now being serious again.

Lori stopped laughing then returned to her original question.

"Do you really want to go out with...me?"

Without missing a beat, Doyle returned to his original reply.

"Why? Is that really so hard to imagine?"

When Lori didn't respond Doyle kept talking.

"Sadly, we have something very big and very important in common."

Lori glanced over at him but didn't speak.

"And both of us are kind of recluses. Both of us like the outdoors. Both of us like working on old houses. Both of us like the country. And..."

"And?" Lori said when Doyle paused for too long.